JOE Hughes insists the Ricky Hatton factor will not detract his focus on Saturday when he puts his English super-lightweight title on the line.

The Malmesbury fighter heads to Walsall Town Hall to make the first defence of the belt he won in the summer against Anthony Upton.

And the 25-year-old’s opponent will head to ring at the weekend with one of this country’s finest ever boxers.

Hatton, a two-weight world champion that has shared the ring with pound-for-pound greats Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio, is now an up-and-coming trainer.

Yet despite being a big fan of the Hitman, Hughes knows that he has to put all his focus on the unbeaten Upton.

“I used to watch a lot of Ricky Hatton growing up,” Hughes said. “I remember watching the (IBF world light-welterweight title) Kostya Tszyu fight (in 2005).

“Also the fight before it – the eliminator.

“When I turned professional, I was being compared to Ricky Hatton because we’d both won the same ABA title, with us both being the same weight.

“It all adds to the hype I suppose, but my focus is on Anthony Upton.”

Despite the Hitman being an all-action in-your-face boxer, Hughes says that the 23-year-old challenger is not like his mentor.

“From what I have seen of his fights, he is nothing like Ricky at all. He is very elusive and slick,” Hughes said.

“I don’t want to say too much about what we are going to do on the night but there are a few things that we have been working on – just like I’m sure there are a few things that they will have been working on.”

Although this clash in the West Midlands is for Hughes’ English title, the British Boxing Board of Control have also agreed to sanction this bout as an eliminator for the Lonsdale belt.

Tyrone Nurse became the British champion last month as he out-pointed Welshman Chris Jenkins, and while victory for Hughes will move him a step closer to facing the Yorkshireman, he doesn’t expect it will happen straight away.

“This will give me another bargaining chip with the board to make me mandatory challenger,” said Hughes, who has won the International Masters belt, the Southern Area title and the IBO International crown prior to becoming English champion.

“I don’t think that I will get the opportunity to be a voluntary, so I have to get myself in that mandatory challenger position.

“Winning this eliminator will help me do that but saying that, if was just me defending my English title, that would have also done it.

“This is the first time I have defended any of the titles and I’m really looking forward to doing that.

“I was meant in Swindon (in October) but that fell through, so I’m glad that I have got this opportunity so quick.”